EBE Chapter 10 Confrontation
Chapter 10 Confrontation
Seeing that the milk vomited violently after only one bite, Shen Changyan looked at the sticky rice in the bowl as if facing a formidable enemy, and dared not touch his chopsticks at all.
"Dad, is this food edible?"
Shen Jiangchuan was also apprehensive, but since it was his wife who made it, he had to show his support first.
"Why can't you eat it? Your mother worked so hard to make this. It won't taste good if it gets cold. Eat it now."
So Shen Jiangchuan shoveled a mouthful into his mouth and swallowed it with his eyes closed.
"puff--"
He choked on his food!
"Cough cough cough..." The rice was salty, bitter, and undercooked!
Shen Jiangchuan suddenly coughed, his face turning red. He tried to swallow but couldn't, and he dared not vomit in front of his wife. He was so uncomfortable that tears welled up in his eyes.
Seeing his father looking like he'd eaten rat poison, Shen Changyan silently put down his rice bowl.
The youngest brother, Shen Xiaochuan, was usually very clever, and immediately nudged the fourth brother, Shen Qianchuan, who was sitting next to him, with his elbow.
"Fourth Brother, they're being too unreasonable. We made a lot of food for lunch today, and they're all so picky. Let's eat quickly, and we can get an extra bowl later."
“What my younger brother said makes sense.”
So, Shen Qianchuan slowly brought the bowl to his mouth, only to find it so salty that he quickly covered his face and spat it out onto the ground.
It's not that he's picky, this food is just inedible!
Seeing that even his usually taciturn and honest fourth brother couldn't swallow, Shen Xiaochuan's face immediately turned ashen, as if he had eaten shit.
He reached out and threw the bowl onto the large stone table, spilling all the rice and tilting the bowl to one side.
"Mother, how are we supposed to eat this? Everyone is starving. How can we live? I'm not going to school for the rest of the day. I don't have the strength to study!"
Song Mingyue and her daughter Shen Yinxiu, who were sitting around a table, didn't dare to raise their heads, for fear of being criticized and denounced.
Mrs. Sun was so angry that she clenched her molars!
"Eat, eat, all you do is eat. Do you all have no hands or what? If I don't cook, you'll all starve to death?"
These words were overheard by Liu, the eldest daughter-in-law, and her two daughters who had just entered the courtyard. Liu and her eldest daughter immediately exchanged a glance.
Ah--
It turns out that my mother-in-law understands this principle, and she was able to say such "righteous" words. It's true that if you don't get the punishment, you won't know how much it hurts!
Shen Xiaotang couldn't help but sneer. It was incredibly ironic that a whole family of people would sit around waiting to be fed every day and still know that they can't rely on one person to cook!
When Song saw her sister-in-law return with her two nieces, her eyes lit up and she greeted them warmly.
"Sister-in-law, Tang'er, you're back?"
Sun turned her head, her eyes flashing with a fierce light, and immediately began to berate and scold her.
"You brats, you finally know to come back? What time is it? Can't you even look up? Are you trying to rebel by not coming back to cook? You're the only ones in this family who eat for free, contributing nothing to the family, and you even dare to slack off! If you dare to do this again, you might as well just die out there and never come back!"
She vented her anger with a barrage of curses and scoldings, and finally felt a little better.
"What are you all standing there for? Waiting for me to feed you? Hurry up and wash your hands and cook!"
Shen Xiaotang feigned fear and said innocently, "Grandma, Mom and I helped Dad weed in the fields for half a day. How can that not count as contributing to the family? If we don't work in the fields, what will our family eat? There are twenty acres of land. Who in the village can help us plant and harvest?"
"Besides, didn't you just say, 'Don't you all have hands or something? If I don't cook, you'll all starve to death?' My mother and I were working in the fields and didn't have time to come back to cook. There are so many of us in the family. If we can't even cook a meal, will we just all starve?"
"Hey...didn't you already cook and eat? Why are you still angry?"
Sun was speechless. These words really came out of her mouth. But this wretched girl had the audacity to talk back to her. She slammed the bowl down on the stone table with a loud "bang".
"You brat, are you asking for a beating again? I'm your grandma. Even your parents and uncles and aunts don't dare to raise their voices at me, and you dare to talk back to me? Kneel down right now!"
In the past, Shen Xiaotang had been quite tolerant of her stepmother, but today she had finally persuaded her parents to consider separating the family property. She had to make a big fuss about it so that the neighbors could see the true colors of her stepmother. That way, when the family property was separated, her parents wouldn't be branded as unfilial.
"You said it yourself, why are you still angry? I won't kneel!"
For the first time, Liu did not persuade her daughter to apologize to her stepmother in front of her mother-in-law.
But ever since she entered the door, she had been afraid of this shrewish stepmother-in-law. The fear came from the bottom of her heart, but she still mustered up her courage and whispered, "Mother, we heard what you just said. Why do you have such a big problem with cooking a meal? Xiaotang cooks every day, and if she comes home late, you scold her. Can't she even say a word?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun looked as if she had swallowed a live fly; her face instantly darkened and turned ashen.
The eldest daughter-in-law, who can't even get a fart out of her mouth, actually dares to talk back to her in public?
She was so angry that she trembled all over, pointed her trembling finger at her eldest daughter-in-law, and started yelling loudly.
"Big sister, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me today? Are you determined to drive me to my death? I can't live like this anymore, I can't go on living, waaaaah..."
Sun covered her face and cried as she threw herself into the old man's arms, sobbing with tears streaming down her face.
“Old man, look at your good daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I’m really not fit to be a stepmother. I’ve worked hard for this family from dawn till dusk, and my hair has turned white. In the end, I don’t get any good treatment. At my age, I’m still being talked back to by the younger generation. If word gets out, people will think that I’ve mistreated them. How can I live like this?”
"Woooooooo..."
She nestled in the old man's arms and began to sob silently. Everyone could hear her heart-wrenching cries, but they couldn't see her face.
When she was young, Ms. Sun was extremely gentle and considerate to men, always putting them first and listening to them in everything. Later, she had one son and one daughter after another and worked hard for more than 20 years before her temper became irritable and fiery. However, the affection between the two of them, who were childhood sweethearts, did not diminish in the slightest. As long as it was not too excessive, Mr. Shen would turn a blind eye and never interfere.
Since having several sons and marrying into the family, Mrs. Sun had never cried in his arms like this before. Seeing his wife crying so pitifully in his arms, Mr. Shen felt a pang of pity.
He looked up and glared at his eldest daughter-in-law and granddaughter with a displeased expression.
“Eldest daughter, if you have any complaints about your mother, you can tell me. Although she is your stepmother, she treats you no differently than your elders. How can you talk back to her like that?”
“Everyone says that the eldest brother is like a father and the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. As the eldest brother and sister-in-law, you should do more to help your younger brothers. The eldest brother is not very successful. When your younger brothers and nephews pass the imperial examination and become officials, you can also benefit from it, right? You are usually obedient and sensible. Why are you so unruly today? Quickly apologize to your mother. When you go back to the room, teach Tang a lesson. What kind of image will this have if word gets out? It will only tarnish the family reputation of the Shen family.”